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__NOEDITSECTION__ 'VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. ' Author's Note: This story is posted on my blog, and it's where everything is posted first before being transferred here. If you would like to go check it out, here it is! The descriptions of the ten main characters are there, as well. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism you have to offer and I hope you enjoy the story! NOTE: Only the first five chapters of this story will be posted on this page! If you would like to read more, please visit my blog! Chapter One: ' Rune, stood outside the opening of the Jade Mountain Academy. The original founders had passed on, and the academy itself had expanded--according to one of her friends, only thirty-five students of the seven Pyrrhian tribes had attended. Now, over a hundred students, from both Pantalan and Pyrrhian tribes, were gathered, waiting in line to get their things. Like the handsome LeafWing in front of her, his scales a wonderful umber brown with small gold scales and darker red scales as well. Rune was beyond amazed. She'd never known that LeafWings could look so pretty! She spotted darker brownish-purple starbursts on the insides of his wings along with marbled patterns of maroon and gold. She stiffened as the LeafWing next to him twisted back and saw her staring at him. She hurried looked away and pretended to be interested in the squishy green caterpillar creeping up her claws. "I wouldn't eat it, if I were you." She looked up. The handsome LeafWing smiled at her. ''Oh no, ''she thought. ''Why do his eyes have to be pretty too? '' "I wasn't planning on it." The line inched forward. She scooped it up in her claws, refusing to meet his gaze. "My sister said you were staring at us." ''Us? No, just you. '' She decided to be honest. "I've never seen a real LeafWing before. The only Pantalan dragon I've ever seen was the SilkWing ambassador. I was just admiring your colors." "Thanks," he said. "I thought NightWings were all black, but..." He trailed off and nodded at her scales. He shifted his wings back and smiled again. "That's the good thing about school, I guess. You learn something new everyday." He made a face. "Most of the time, it's information that you don't even use in your everyday life." She smiled back. "Tell me about it." They scooted forward. "It's a long way from Pantala to Pyrrhia. How'd you get here?" "There's a- a thing connecting the two continents." He struggled with finding the right word. "Like, a portal almost but not quite. It's switch activated too, so that's a little interesting." He laughed nervously. "We were all organized into groups and left, five dragonets at a time." She guessed it was animus enchanted. But by who? Stonemover was long gone--the animus NightWing had succumbed to his stone prison a few hundred years ago, according to Ash, her best friend. ''Switch activated? Huh. There's probably scrolls about it that I can look at later. ''"Yeah, I just flew here from the rainforest. What's your name?" Too sudden, she thought, but he didn't seem to mind. "I'm Coleus. This is my sister, Foxglove." The LeafWing next to him was also strikingly beautiful, slender and wiry. There was a certain roundness to her face, however, that Rune liked. But she didn't see the resemblance between Foxglove and Coleus at all--where Coleus' scales were brown with gold and red, Foxglove's were a beautiful pale green with a bluish undertone and pale purple around the edges of her wings and horns, even around her ears and talons. Her eyes were purple, too. Foxglove offered a small smile. "What's your name?" Rune immediately decided that she liked her. At a first glance, she'd been afraid that maybe the pretty LeafWing would be like one of those mean dragonesses in the teenage romance scrolls her older sister liked to read. "I'm Rune," she replied. "Foxglove is a pretty name." Foxglove exchanged a glance with her brother. "Thanks. Rune's an interesting name." The line crawled forward. Rune saw that the MudWing in front of the two LeafWings was speaking to a NightWing up front. After him, then the two LeafWings were next. ''And then me! '' "You used to be able to read minds and predict the future, right?" Foxglove tilted her head at her. She looked like she already knew the answer, but wanted confirmation from Rune- the first NightWing she'd ever seen, probably. "Sort of. We used to, then we weren't able to for a while, and now we can." "How?" inquired Coleus. That was something Rune wasn't sure if she was allowed to say. "I have no idea. Nobody ever tells me anything." She shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. Foxglove settled back. "If you find out, will you tell us? Or me, at least? I'm really curious. And, y'know, you're the first NightWing we've ever seen." "I'll try to, but I'll have to make sure I'm allowed to tell you." Rune offered a small smile. The female LeafWing returned it, then stepped forward with her brother to get her scrolls. '.'' .'' ''.' Coleus dropped his sister off at her sleeping cave, then wandered down the well-lit cave tunnels, hunting for his own. Fatespeaker had said, "Five tunnels down, fourth cave on the left." That was the third tunnel, he noted. Two more to go. He ducked under wings and stepped delicately over SandWing and HiveWing tails. He spotted a couple NightWings with sparkly silver teardrop scales at the corner of their eyes and tried to remember if they were the ones with mind reading or not. He wished he had Rune with him-- maybe she could've helped? Even though she said she didn't know any NightWing secrets. (Or at least, that's what it sounded like to him.) That was the fifth tunnel! He ducked inside it and walked to the fourth cave as quickly as possible, the stone smooth and slick under his claws. He pushed away the beaded curtain and stepped inside. Lounging comfortably on a giant lotus flower was a RainWing, his scales practically glowing in the beam of light coming through the window. His eyes were closed blissfully and calm blue and pink bubbles floated through his scales as he slept. In the river rippling next to the giant flower was a deep grayish green-blue SeaWing, his arms resting on a stone ledge, his scroll propped up in front of him. The SeaWing turned his head and stared at him with almost emotionless blue eyes. His eyes flicked to the sleeping RainWing and his brows narrowed, like he was trying to ask a question. ''With his mind, ''Coleus thought. ''And I'm no mind reader. Maybe he's wondering what I think of him? He shrugged back in response and slid his stuff into a rack by the back corner, where the lotus flower and river was, watching the RainWing's tail carefully. He found a deeper divot in the cave wall, filled almost completely with sand. "For the SandWing," came a soft whisper. Coleus turned around. The SeaWing smiled, tiredly, and Coleus felt a little better meeting his gaze. Then the sound of laughter drifted down the hall. And it only got louder. As if the whisper had summoned him, a large, muscular SandWing entered the room, laughing and talking to a couple dragonets- a female IceWing and a male MudWing. The noise woke up the RainWing, who spotted the SandWing almost immediately, glowered at him, allowed his scales to turn red and orange with streaks of black, then rolled over and covered his ears. "Oops," muttered the SandWing. He shooed the other two dragonets out of the cave. "Sorry! I'll talk to you guys later." As the dragonets left, the RainWing sneezed loudly. Coleus huffed the air through his nose, trying not to laugh. The SandWing flashed a look of irritation at the RainWing, which the latter fortunately couldn't see. "Has it ever occurred to you to not go rampaging around, talking like a bunch of howler monkeys on drugs?" The RainWing lifted his head up and scowled at the SandWing. His voice was groggy and slightly raspy from sleep, and venomous too as darker red streaks splashed through his scales like paint spilling. "Hang on," said the SeaWing, as the desert-colored dragon swelled to nearly twice his size in outrage. Smoke was curling from his nose. The green dragonet's voice was rather mild sounding, a little bored, a little amused, but also a little emotionless. "Let's not... start anything. No fights and no fires. I mean, you can go outside and burn the mountain to the ground if you'd like, as long as you leave this cave alone." He nodded at the SandWing. "And if you two want to duke it out, feel free to take it outside. Where you're not disrupting me ''or my... friend." He smiled at Coleus. "Why couldn't you be like HIM?!" The RainWing erupted. "''He ''is quiet!" He jabbed a claw in Coleus' direction. "We don't even know your names," the SeaWing continued, even though both the RainWing and the SandWing were completely ignoring him. The SandWing flexed his claws and the RainWing bared his teeth. Coleus didn't like getting in between dragons, but he didn't want the SandWing to set the scrolls or his hammock on fire. He sauntered in casually between them. "You don't need to fight each other," he pointed out. "You can just talk it out. I'm sure you didn't ''mean ''to wake him up- how were you supposed to know he was sleeping? But at the same time," he added hurriedly as the RainWing glared at him, "you didn't need to be that loud. There are other dragons, besides the four of us. See, problem solved! Anyway, I'm Coleus- nice to meet you." ''Not really, he thought. You two look like the most unpleasant dragons ''I've ''ever seen. ''But nevertheless, he hitched a smile on his face. The SandWing paused. "I'm King." He scraped at the rock beneath his talons. "Sorry for waking you up," he added, nodded at the RainWing behind him. "I'm Lyre. Sorry for snapping at you, I guess." The RainWing was already settling back, his ruff folded neatly behind his ears, and curling his tail up on the flower with him. "And I'm Santorini," the SeaWing chimed in. "And I just lost where I was because of you two idiots!" he added, his impatience spilling into his voice. "So I hope you're both very pleased with yourselves, that was ''really ''great of you." He pulled himself out of the river, growling low in his throat, snatched his scroll, and stalked out of the cave. His stripes flashed, very fast and very dull. Coleus guessed that it meant something he wouldn't want translated. "What's his problem?" King wondered aloud. "Gee, it's not like he just said it." Coleus pulled a giant leaf hammock down from the wall. He crossed over to the wall and pulled a scroll out, then climbed back into his hammock. "Our clawmate's a comedian too," Lyre remarked. "So tell me, what's Pantala like?" "Not as colorful as Pyrrhia, that's for sure." Coleus was only half-listening. He was very tired, and the leaf hammock was soft. He saw another window, higher up, that was allowing a beam of sunlight to peak through and onto his scales. He closed his eyes as his clawmates' voices faded to dull hum and nothing more. '. .'' ''.' Sienna poked her head inside the music cave. A female NightWing dragonet was poring over some sheet music. "Can I see when you're done?" she asked. "Yeah, sure." The NightWing flipped through the pages. "I can't find the singing part!" "You sing?" Sienna wanted to know. "Of course! I love singing! But this song doesn't seem to have a singing part." She sighed. Sienna pulled out another stack of sheet music and began rifling through it. She wanted to sing too! If she found it, then ''she ''could sing instead. ''And I think I'd be better than her, ''Sienna thought, then felt guilty for thinking it. "I found one!" the NightWing hopped up on all fours, delighted. She tried not to look disappointed. "Did you find one too? You can sing the next one." "Oh- um, not yet." "The lead singing part was in the middle of mine. I don't think these are in order, because yours was all the way towards the back." ''Mine? Sienna was a backing singer? "What song are we playing, Rune?" a male NightWing tilted his head at her. Sienna spotted glittering silver teardrop-shaped scales by his eyes. Wow. Those are kind of pretty. ''The NightWing's deep green eyes rested on hers and she swallowed nervously. ''Did- did he just read my mind? '' "We're playing ''You Don't Send Me Lovely Hearts Anymore ''by Victory of the RainWing. Serotine, you'll be on drumset." The NightWing nodded and the other dragonets shuffled around to let him through. "Ghost, you'll be on the uboss." An all-black RainWing leaned over to grab the sheet music, then picked up a large rotary-valved instrument. Sienna collected her sheet music and watched as other dragonets grabbed theirs. "So, the score says that this piece is usually taken at a fairly slow tempo, like one hundred to ninety beats per minute. But we need to tune first before we start. Ghost, can you--" "Yeah, I got it." The RainWing pressed down one of the valves and blew into the instrument through a long tube. "You're a little flat," Sienna noted. Rune looked surprised, but Ghost pushed in one of the many valves. She tried again, and this time, Sienna nodded. "You're good." "What's your starting note?" Rune leaned over. "OK. Mine is a third above yours." She settled back, then smiled. "I didn't know you had perfect pitch. I'm so jealous." "Thanks." Sienna smiled back. Maybe this NightWing wasn't so bad. "Ghost, can you play an A for me?" A low tone filled the air. The NightWing hummed, then nodded. She clapped her talons together. "Serotine, count us off! Give us eight and we're in." "Got it boss!" He tapped his sticks together. Ghost emptied her spit valve, and readied herself. Sienna glanced down at her sheet. Rune began to sing. Her voice was so lovely, Sienna forgot to be nervous. She swayed with the music. She glanced down at her music, only to see that she had a singing solo! ''Oh crap, I didn't think to prepare anything! '''. .'' ''.' King snapped his teeth at Cypress. "Can you please tell me? Willow knows!" "No I don't!" Willow swished her tail around her ankles. "What are you talking about? Know what? What am I supposed to know?" "I didn't tell Willow," Cypress said. "Anyway, it's not important and it doesn't concern you!" "It does too!" King protested. He hated this. His friends always kept secrets from him-- Cypress usually. He and Willow often left him alone so they could have their "private talks". He folded his wings. "Fine. I don't even care anyway." "Oh, don't be like that!" Cypress called after him, not sounding terribly worried. ''You think I'll come crawling back? Think again, pathetic MudWing. ''He could be just as secretive and horrible as him! ''And I'll make some even BETTER friends, and you can sit there and watch ME have all sorts of FUN! ''He stormed out of the Prey Center, spreading his large, desert-colored wings, and taking flight. The chilly air whistled all around him, in his ears, under his wings- absolutely everywhere. He banked down towards the forest beneath him, crystal-colored water streaking over rocks, and silver mullet fish darting here and there. Beautiful green trees and rich brown trunks, striking red berries and the wonderful, earthy smell that you could never find in the hot and dry desert. ''Only cacti, cacti, and more cacti. With the occasional oasis. And dragons that look like desert sand. '' He prowled around, upturning rocks and poking his snout in knotholes. Once he found a bright blue crayfish, which immediately pinched the flesh of his talon and he shook it around furiously, trying to fling it off him. Beyond irritated, he ripped it off with his teeth and crushed it almost immediately. He spat out the shell and spent the next few moments picking out the tiny bits with his claws. ''That's the good thing about this school, ''he told himself. ''There are dragons of every color with different cultures and different environments that they live in-- think about all the cool things you could learn! ''He was mostly interested in the Pantalan tribes- dragons with four wings instead of the usual two? Dragons with beautiful iridescent scales that could also make fire erupt from their wrists and dragons that had a range of different abilities? Dragons that could manipulate the environment around them? Far more interesting than the Pyrrhian tribes, of which four could breathe fire. ''Not special or interesting at all. '' ''I mean, we do have venom. But so do the RainWings and some of the HiveWings. But do the Pantalans have animus magic? NO! ...but neither do we. ''The last animus dragon know to exist was Azure the SeaWing, and he had died about fifty years ago. "Are you OK?" a voice queried. Startled, King dropped the blue shell pieces and turned around. A SkyWing stood there, staring at him with her weird blue eyes. Her scales were fascinating- a copperish-gold color with a bronze undertone. She cracked a small smile at him. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just came here because my friends were being annoying." She barked a laugh and sat down next to him, dipping her talons in the stream and letting the water lap over her claws. Thin spirals of smoke rose from her scales, silvery-gray and wispy. ''She's a firescales, ''he realized. SkyWings hatched with too much fire. ''But not like some of the others that I've seen. ''There were firescales with thicker smoke, and standing too close to them felt like standing next to a river of lava. The warmth she was emitting was almost like the heat coming from his own scales. "What were they doing?" she asked. "Not telling me stuff." He shrugged. "But- they're not obligated to tell you everything, right?" "I know. But they do this all the time. And they skulk off to have their 'private talks' that I'm never a part of." She made a face, but he couldn't tell if it was aimed at him, or his friends that weren't with him right now. "That's annoying," she agreed. "I had friends that did that all the time, and finally I just gave up and stopped hanging out with them." She paused. "You know, if you decide to do that and you don't have any friends, ''I'll ''be your friend." "Really?" "Sure!" She pressed one of her claws against his. ''So she knows that she can touch other dragons without hurting them. Huh. "What's your name, new friend?" He grinned at her. "I'm King." She smiled back, her teeth glinting in the sun. "Caldera. Nice to meet you, King." "Actually," he said in a haughty tone, sticking his nose in the air, "it's Your Majesty." They both snickered. Not all Pyrrhians are boring. There's Caldera. '''. .'' ''.' Caldera and King flew back to the school together. She'd noticed the way he had been staring at her scales earlier, and now he was staring at her wings, his eyes following the twisting gold veins in the flesh of her wings. She was pretending not to notice. Which she was not very good at. "Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable." King smiled awkwardly. "It's fine." She returned the smile. Her gaze flitted over the red-brown diamonds that rippled down his body. Her face felt too warm and she glanced away, hoping her blushing cheeks weren't too obvious. "Um. Do you know when the winglets will be posted?" "Either tomorrow or the day after, I think." King ran a talon through his feathery sail, which he'd let her touch only moments before flying back. It was startlingly soft, not all coarse like what Caldera thought it would be. And his scales were so glossy and... ''clean. "Do you want to go through the main entrance or through the Prey Center?" she asked. He shrugged, so she banked down towards the main entrance of the school. Luckily there was a directory next to the cave entrance, so she traced the path to her own sleeping cave. "Where's your sleeping cave?" "Right there." He pointed to a dot only a short walk away from hers. "Oh! Yours is just a few caves down. Did you meet your clawmates?" "Not yet," she admitted. "I'm a little nervous! Can you come with me?" "Yeah, sure!" They turned down one of the tunnels. "We just passed my cave," King said to her. That leaves only three more to go. ''She pushed back the beaded curtain and stepped inside the cave. Lounging on a giant flower was a beautiful NightWing. She was reading a book and didn't even glance up when Caldera tapped on the wall. The IceWing next to her lifted up her head and... and smiled! Like she was happy to see Caldera! "Hello!" The IceWing climbed off her ledge and adjusted the fur cover on top, then held out a talon for her to touch. "Hi," said Caldera, with only a hint of apprehension in her voice. "Um. I'm Caldera! Nice to meet you?" "Nice name. I'm Frostleaf. That's Rune, and Sienna went off to the Prey Center to get something to eat." The IceWing turned her head to King, then yelped with delight, "King!" She threw her arms around him, and he hugged her back. Caldera fought back a stab of jealousy. ''You don't even know King! ''she scolded herself. ''Stop getting jealous! ''"Are you OK?" Frostleaf looked him up and down. Caldera pretended not to notice the way she was holding onto his arms, and the way he looked back at her. "Willow said you were a little irritated." ''Is Willow her sister? ''"Yeah, they were just annoying me a little. Well, Cypress was. Willow was OK, I guess. How are--" "SHHHHH!" Rune scowled at them. "You're too loud! I'm trying to read!" "Sorry," Frostleaf murmured. The NightWing curled her tail up on the flower and continued reading. After a moment, Frostleaf continued her conversation with King. Both of them seemed to have forgotten Caldera. ''I mean, they're probably really good friends, so that makes sense I guess. I just met King, and it's probably easier for him to talk to someone who he's known for a long time. ''But she didn't like that she was being ignored. ''They probably wouldn't even notice if I walked away. '' King leaned out of the way and she stepped over his tail carefully, scanning the cubicle in the back corner of the cave for an open slot. She untangled her bag from her body and slid it in. ''He didn't even care! I was right. ''She pulled out a book from the shelf of scrolls and books, then took one of the higher ledges to read. She was glad that her firescales wasn't as severe-- she could read! And touch other dragons! She refrained from glancing over at King and Frostleaf. With her acute SkyWing hearing, she could clearly make out every word they were saying. ''It's like I don't even exist. Well, whatever. I can meet Sienna and once I get to know Rune better, then it won't matter if I'm not friends with Frostleaf or King. And they'd probably like that too. I won't be the third wheel or whatever. ''"Bye, Frostleaf!" King twined his tail with the IceWing's quickly, then let go and walked away. ''He didn't even say good-bye to ''me. "Bye, King!" she called after him pointedly. "Bye Caldera!" was his faint reply. "Sorry that I stole him," Frostleaf said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. "Yeah, whatever." She shrugged. "It's fine." ''It's not fine, ''she wanted to snap. ''I was talking to him and we were having a GRAND TIME until you stuck your fat IceWing nose in. Now I don't even exist! Thanks for ignoring me, that was ''really great of you. But she didn't say any of that. She smiled, and Frostleaf smiled back, even though what Caldera really wanted to do was rip the IceWing's tongue out through her teeth. Frostleaf could probably tell that her smile was forced, but if she noticed, she didn't say anything. "Did Sienna say how long she'd be gone?" Rune asked without looking up. "Nope," Frostleaf replied. "You could try waiting," Caldera suggested, hiding her smile when Rune looked up at her and glared. Frostleaf snickered. "You could shut up," she retorted. ''Ooooo I'd better watch out! ''She narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything. "Hey guys!" A deep reddish-brown MudWing padded into their cave with some more books. When Rune raised her brow, she added, "Oh, I stopped by the library and kinda got sidetracked." "Kinda?" Frostleaf giggled. "Your bag's about to burst!" "Well, Caiman had all these new books and scrolls, and she seduced me with this new fantasy series that I've been obsessed with." Sienna sauntered over to her lilypad and dug around in her bag. "What's the series called?" Caldera asked, forgetting to be impatient with Rune and angry with Frostleaf. "It's called, ''The Raven, written by the amazing NightWing author Umbra. It's honestly so good. I'll come with you if you want to go check out the books." "Now?" "Yeah, sure! There were so many that I didn't get to see--" "OK!" said Rune, laughing. "You haven't even made a dent in all the books you got. Finish those first and then go check out more! Otherwise there'll be no more for the rest of us!" Wistfully, Sienna said, "You say that like it's a bad thing." '''. .'' ''.' Lyre couldn't breathe. Never before had his eyes seen such beauty. There she was, a slender, regal-looking HiveWing, her blackish-purplish-red scales glinting in the sunlight as she moved. Her scales were so pristine it was like looking at a mirror. She was talking to a pale purple iridescent SilkWing, who, in Lyre's opinion, was no match for the HiveWing's beauty. He already loved everything about her, from the fiery red-gold ridge in the center of her forehead to the subtle orange flecks in her black eyes. If only she would flick those black diamond dreams in his direction... "Oh my," said a smooth voice behind him. "Is that what true love looks like?" "Shut up Santorini," Lyre breathed. "She's- I think-" "I think you should talk to her." Santorini sidled up next to him, watching the Pantalans with his sapphire blue eyes. "Although I don't know what you see in that hopeless SilkWing. She's a complete nimrod, you know that?" "Not the SilkWing," said Lyre, in the same breathless voice. "Oh." Something about the tone in his voice made Lyre turn to stare at him. "Do you have a problem with HiveWings?" ''Or just her? "No," he said. "I just think she's out of your league. You are not charming enough to make her like you." "And you are?" "Compared to you, I'm quite the handsome fellow." "You're funny." Lyre bared his fangs at him. Santorini stared back at him with his cold blue eyes that usually hid any emotion and creeped the RainWing dragonet out. Lyre faltered. Santorini himself actually was quite handsome, and it made him feel like a rotting mango. Lyre would never tell him, because Santorini would tell Coleus, who would tease him forever, but he had once had a crush on the green SeaWing. He liked the mystery of never knowing what he was feeling and he liked that they had a similar taste in scrolls. And once I get to know more about him... '' ''But what about her? Go talk to her, before someone else does! "I'm gonna talk to her," said Lyre. Santorini shook his head. "You ridiculous dragon. She'll rip you apart. Her little clique will scrutinize everything you do. Just forget her. This is one of the worst ideas you've ever had." "I'm sure that's what your dad said when your mom wanted dragonets, but that didn't stop him from loving you anyway. And this is not the worst idea. How else do you think I get to know her?" "Have you ever tried observing?" "I'm tired of observing! I want to talk to her! I feel like a creep just standing here and staring." "Fine," said Santorini, feigning disgust. "But when she breaks your heart, don't come crawling to me. I don't care about your sudden infatuation with a dragon you've never even met. You think she has some wonderful personality just because she's beautiful. That ditzy SilkWing is gonna go around and spread rumors about you--'GUYS did you HEAR that some disgusting RAINWING was talking to WHATSHERFACE?'-- and dragons are going to laugh at you for being stupid enough to try to talk to her and get her to like you. I know, because I will be one of them." "No you won't," said Lyre dismissively. "You love me. And the SilkWing won't be a problem, because if I'm really that hideous, she won't want dragons to know that some loser monkey like me went up to her and tried to make small talk." "Small talk," the SeaWing echoed. "Is that what you call the crap that comes out of your mouth every time you open your lips?" "You're funny," Lyre growled. Truth was, he didn't quite like it that Santorini was continually shooting him down. Weren't friends supposed to support each other? The SeaWing seemed to enjoy ''dragging his claws through every single one of his ideas. ''Well, he's not gonna like it when I do the same thing to him. '' Without another glance at him, he approached the HiveWing dragonet. Their conversation stopped abruptly when they spotted him. The SilkWing's mouth was hanging slightly open, and the HiveWing lifted her chin to regard with her beautiful black eyes, with none of the warmth that was once in them. "Hi," she said, cautiously. ''Oh my gosh, ''he thought. He knew he was being a little stupid, but... but... she talked to him! "Hello," he said, smiling. "I'm Lyre. Who are you?" "Vespa," she replied, her voice still wary and with a hint of impatience. "And this is Wisteria." Her voice was slippery and cool, like ice. By the three moons, he was head-over-talons for this beautiful young dragoness. "Hi!" Wisteria beamed at him. "I wish I could change my scales like you can." Her eyes were wide and curious as she glanced at the ruff folded behind his ears, and his long, prehensile tail. "And your venom sounds cool. Terrifying, but cool too." "That's right," said Vespa. The way she was looking at him now, like he was a dragon worth knowing... His heart swelled with affection for her. ''I'd sell my tribe's secrets to be with her. '' ''Don't say anything stupid! "Do you have any abilities? Wrist stingers?" Vespa looked a little uncomfortable at his query. "Um, I'd rather not say." Crap. "S-sorry," he blurted. "Forget I asked. One of my friends is a LeafWing, and he was telling us about these portal things that connect the two continents. He said it's far easier than just island hopping. Is there only one portal that everyone has to pass through or are there multiple?" "There are a few more, yes." Vespa relaxed her wings. "I could show you sometime if you'd like." "OK!" He grinned at her, and she offered a small smile in return. "Vespa," murmured Wisteria, gently tugging on the HiveWing's tail. "You said you'd play slapjack with me!" "I did say that," said Vespa, sounding regretful. "Sorry Lyre. I'll talk to you later, OK?" "Sure," he stammered, and when she walked away, he bounded back over to Santorini, who was watching with an amused expression. "So she didn't shoot you down immediately," the SeaWing said, then went right to examining his claws. "I'm so excited! She doesn't hate me! And did you see the way she looked ''at me?" "Like you were some annoying pest that she couldn't wait to be rid of?" he asked innocently. Lyre swatted his nose. "Like I was worth knowing!" "Oh, you poor attention-deprived dragonet." Santorini made a face. "She'll tire of you in three hours." "Try when the universe implodes," sighed Lyre. "We are ''so destined for each other." "Right. You can be her token boyfriend who she parades around because his hideousness makes her look even more beautiful." "Shut up." "You know I'm right." "You're wrong, and I'm gonna prove it." "And how might you do that?" "For one, I'm not hideous!" "Well, you still suck." "F**k you." '''. .'' ''.' Frostleaf woke up the next morning on her ledge and looked over to see that the fur rug was all bunched up and was hanging over the side. "Oh good, you're finally awake." Sienna smiled at her. "We- I mean, Rune, Caldera, and I were thinking we'd go explore the outside of the school a bit, meet some more dragons. Plan an expedition to the library. This is one of our Exploration Days, where we get to look around a little more before the winglets are posted." "Ah, OK." Frostleaf pulled herself unwillingly off her ledge and let her wings droop. She was so tired she would've gladly accompanied her clawmates to the bottom of a hot spring. She dragged her talons after them, stifling a yawn. "Great galloping moonbeams, did you get any sleep at all?" Rune wondered aloud, slowing down to match her pace. "I tri-i-ed," yawned Frostleaf. "I just couldn't sleep at allllll..." She rubbed a talon over her face. "Where are we going? I'll freshen up a bit- look a little less like a corpse, I mean- and then I'll join you." "I think we're going to the Prey Center," said Rune. "Y'know, for breakfast and stuff." "Yyyeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhh..." Frostleaf wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. Rune chose this moment to admire the bright flowers that adorned the walls. "Rune! Frostleaf! Hurry up!" Sienna and Caldera were waiting for them impatiently. "We're hungry!" "Sorry!" said Rune, but she made no move to hurry at all. "We're just a little tired. Or, Frostleaf is." "Frostleaf, hurry up!" "Frostleaf, wait up!" A deep, male voice called. She turned around and King grinned at her. "You look half-dead! Are you OK?" "Yeah, you do look awful." A handsome LeafWing studied her face, but when he saw Rune, his eyes lit up. "Rune! How are you?" "I'm good!" Rune pressed her talon against his. ''Oh she totally likes him, ''thought Frostleaf. "Gee thanks," Frostleaf said. "If nothing else, I hope my one contribution to society was to look as hideous as possible." "N-no, that's not what I meant-" "I was joking." "Oh. Heh heh." The LeafWing rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sienna and Caldera are up ahead," Rune said. "Frostleaf, this is Coleus. Coleus- Frostleaf." "Frostleaf," Coleus echoed back. "That's a pretty name." She smiled. She ''always ''got that response, but she didn't mind. "Hey King," he added suddenly, "did we just abandon Lyre and Santorini?" The burly SandWing stopped and turned around. "I think we lost them by accident. But to be fair, they were conspiring in the back and whispering in a very annoying confidential way." "About what?" Frostleaf was beyond curious. "Do you have any idea?" "Nope." King heaved his shoulders. "Well, there's a directory around every corner, so they'll meet us there." Far too late, Frostleaf remembered that she wanted to wash up. ''It's fine. King doesn't seem to care. '' They pushed open the door to the Prey Center where several other dragonets were already sitting with their friends and talking animatedly. One section of the prey center was entirely dedicated to fruit, another for meat, and one section for different fish and other types of seafood. "Wow. It's so organized!" Caldera sighed happily. "I'm in heaven," Sienna agreed. "You four can go ahead," King nodded at them. "Cole and I are gonna wait for Lyre and Santorini." Without waiting for them, Caldera and Sienna shot ahead of them. Rune snickered. Frostleaf wasn't too hungry, but she knew she had to eat anyway. She joined Caldera by the seafood area, where the SkyWing was looking at the different types of cooked fish. "You don't eat them raw?" Caldera snorted. "No. That's so gross!" "I've never had them cooked," Frostleaf said. "For obvious reasons." She took a small one and put several more raw mackerel on her plate. They even had a giant shark cut into slices and octopus tentacles with different marinades. ''The sea isn't too far from here, ''Frostleaf remembered. ''So it must not be that hard for them to acquire all these different types of seafood. Especially if there's more than one dragon doing the hunting. ''"Um, Caldera, wait." The SkyWing turned around, and that was when Frostleaf noticed the smoke rising from her scales. She chose not to mention this. The touch of impatience, a little anger, only confirmed what Frostleaf had thought from the moment King left their cave yesterday. She was mad at her. "Um, did I make you mad?" She had to know. "When?" Caldera was genuinely confused now. "When I was talking to King." Frostleaf felt her cheeks flush. "Oh." Caldera frowned for a moment. "Yeah. You two just forgot I was there. But it's fine now. I don't really care." "Really? It's just- cause my sister, Willow, normally hangs out with him, and I hardly get to talk to him, y'know?" "Yeah. I understand." The two dragonets joined Rune and Sienna at one of the tables towards the back. King sat next to Caldera and Cole was on the other side of him, so close to Rune he was a breath away from touching her wings. "We just couldn't wait for them anymore," Cole said. "I don't know what's taking them so long, because it actually doesn't take that long from our cave to here." "Maybe they're waiting for someone else?" Rune suggested. "Well they're here." King nodded towards the entrance where a dark fuchsia-colored RainWing sauntered in, his wing frames a lighter pink and talking to a gorgeous HiveWing. And next to him, looking bored out of his mind was a dark greenish-gray SeaWing, his sapphire blue eyes almost emotionless. He had an odd earring and a septum piercing, both of which she couldn't quite make out from where she was. The SilkWing next to him was as gorgeous as the HiveWing, but in Frostleaf's opinion, she thought the SilkWing was far more beautiful. Her scales were a pale lavender that shifted to an equally frosty blue. Her eyes were almost as blue as the SeaWing's, but with a hint of gray in them. Her body was long and slender, almost like a RainWing, and her antennae perked up cheerfully. She was full of energy. Frostleaf was almost immediately attracted to her. The RainWing was searching the crowd, and he grinned when he saw Cole and King waving at him. He nudged the HiveWing and the other three dragonets turned to stare. The HiveWing and SilkWing didn't follow them- on the contrary, they turned on their heel and went to join a group of HiveWings and SilkWings sitting at a table on the opposite side. "Damn," muttered the RainWing when he saw them sitting and laughing. "I was this close!" "I told you," grumbled the SeaWing. "I told you. Didn't I tell you? What part of 'She's out of your league, don't even try, she'll get bored, blah blah blah' did you not understand?" "All of that." The RainWing sighed and picked at his food. "Damn," he said again. "I was so close." "There'll be other HiveWings for you to moon over." The SeaWing rolled his eyes. "But she's the ''one. I don't want some other HiveWing." "You want her, and a whole lot more. Enough with the sappy stupid romancy nonsense and eat your food. She's not into you and she probably never will be. Like I said, you're not charming enough--" "--to make her like me. I know." "Lyre, Santorini," King broke in. "These are our friends- Rune, Frostleaf, Sienna, and Caldera." He gestured to each of them. While Lyre nodded and smiled, trying to look friendly, Santorini was more engaged with the novel that he had under the table. "I do that too," Sienna blurted. The SeaWing looked up. "Um. Sorry, I couldn't help noticing." "It's fine." The green dragonet seemed a little uncomfortable. "It's just, I can't put it down, y'know? It's this epic action novel and it's just... it's so good." "What's it called?" Sienna tapped her claws against each other. "I'm currently reading a series called The Raven." "By Umbra the NightWing!" Santorini perked up. "I love that series!" "Me too!" cried Sienna. "So good, right?!" The rest of the table immediately erupted into conversation. Frostleaf, who was still beyond exhausted, felt her head nodding back and forth. Twice she jerked herself awake, but the third time... She was startled awake by the roar of laughter. "Frostleaf, are you OK?" Rune was trying her hardest not to laugh, but she was heavily breathing, and Frostleaf knew that she was a ticking time bomb reading to go off. "I'm fine." Frostleaf's face burned with humiliation. "Um. I'm actually gonna go back to our sleeping cave and nap for a bit." Trying her hardest to blink back tears, she disentangled herself from the table and rushed out of the Prey Center as fast as she could. Ugh! I'll just avoid them until they've forgotten it. I'm glad that SilkWing didn't see me. I'd never be able to live it down. '''. .'' ''.' "He's so cute, Vespa." Wisteria knew she'd been saying the same thing for a while now, but she couldn't help it! Vespa! And Lyre! Together! She thought he was cute. When their clawmates left and she and Vespa were finally alone, Vespa had admitted that she thought he was interesting and a little sweet. Wisteria wished she and Vespa were sitting with Lyre and his friends. She'd pretended not to notice the stunning IceWing, and she'd hoped that she could start a conversation with her. She followed that fantasy for a while, only half-listening to Vespa. ''"Hey there," Wisteria would reply, with the right amount of shyness laced into her voice. "Hi," the IceWing would say back, maybe a little warily. "I'm Wisteria. What's your name? I've never met an IceWing before." "I'm blankety-blank." Wisteria didn't know her name, but she'd find out. "Wow, your scales are so beautiful." "Thank you." Cue the blush. Look away bashfully, smile faintly. "Um, you're not too bad looking yourself, you know." Then she'd laugh, and maybe nudge her playfully with a wing or talon. "We should hang out sometime," she'd say. "Is that a date?" "If you want it to be." And then weeks would pass, and months, and they would get closer and closer... And Wisteria would finally be able to work up the courage to say, "Blankety-blank, I think I love--" "WISTERIA!" cried Vespa. "Weren't you listening to me?" "What?" Dammit Vespa! Not everything's about you! I was having a wonderful daydream and now I have to rethink the whole conversation! ''Wisteria didn't say that. "Sorry, I must've spaced out." "Well, your girlfriend just left in a huff. You should go check on her." ''I should do that. Vespa, I love you. "You're the best!" she declared and immediately left the Prey Center in search of the attractive dragoness. She followed twisting tunnels, walking so fast she almost ran into a grouchy LeafWing, almost stepped on the tail of a venomous SandWing, was almost smacked in the face by the wing of a NOT-CUTE and DECIDEDLY UGLY NightWing who leered at her in the MOST DISGUSTING WAY EVER. "Ew, no!" she cried and ducked around him. "Aw, come on!" he protested. Finally! The glint of silvery-purple scales. "Hey, are you OK?" Wisteria sat down next to her. "Um, I'm fine." The IceWing laughed awkwardly. "I- I'm just exhausted." "I had trouble sleeping too," Wisteria admitted. "It usually takes me a while to adjust to new surroundings." "I usually don't leave my home," the IceWing said. "So that's probably what's happening to me too." We have something in common! ''"I'm Frostleaf, by the way." ''By all the Hives, her name is sexy too! '' "I'm Wisteria. I've never met an IceWing before. What does your kingdom look like?" "What does yours? Everything is covered with snow. All the trees are practically barren. You would actually die if you tried to set foot in the kingdom because of the Great Ice Cliff that protects us. The only tree that I've ever seen with all its leaves ''in ''the Ice Kingdom is the Moonglobe Tree, Frostbite's animus gift to the tribe." "What's a Moonglobe?" "It's like a tiny sphere of light, because that's what Frostbite's gift was- the gift of light. The ancient texts say that she carved the tree with her own claws, every branch, every single leaf painstakingly. That's also where my name comes from." "Wow." Wisteria could see why the beautiful dragoness would be named as such. "My parents called me Wisteria because of the color of my scales." She snickered and Frostleaf smiled. "Anyway, do you want to come with me? I'm going to go check out the stream to look for more seashells." "You collect seashells?" "Seaglass, minerals... other stuff. Are you coming?" "Sure!" ''Is it a date? ''she wondered and was glad that Frostleaf was ahead of her so she couldn't see her smile. '. .'' ''.' He ''was cute, and Vespa wasn't afraid to admit it. But she didn't like him that way. She didn't tell Wisteria who really had her attention, and she hoped no one else could tell. She'd been sneaking glances as discreetly as possible. She was pressing her wings as close to her body as possible- what was she hiding? "Hey," sighed Wisteria, plopping back down at the table. Her cheeks were flushed with a flattering rosy color, and her eyes were sparkling. "What happened?" Vespa wondered, turning her gaze away so she could assess her best friend. The dragonet's wings were buzzing--''she must be really excited. Her antennae were alert too, and she was leaning forward urgently, ready to spill all the juicy gossip. "Did you make out with her or something?" The SilkWing laughed. "No, silly! But we ''did ''talk... and, um, look for seashells." "Seashells? At the Jade Mountain Academy?" Vespa wrinkled her nose. "She's a little odd, isn't she?" "No she's not! She collects things from the sea, so we were walking up and down the coast looking for empty shells." "What did you talk about? Did you confess your love for her?" "Ha ha," said Wisteria dryly. "She seemed a little upset, we talked for a short while, and then she said she needed something to do and blah blah blah we had a date. Sorta. Kinda. ''Maybe. OK, fine, not really. Anyway, did he ask you out?" "I'm not into him!" Vespa snapped. Wisteria's brows shot up, the way they often did whenever she thought Vespa was giving her too much attitude. "Sorry. But I don't like him that way." "You should tell him!" "What?! No! If he asks me out, then I'll tell him. I'll look so lame if I go up to him and say, 'Hey, sorry, not interested!' And, um, I don't want to hurt his feelings." "So it's OK with you if you hurt him later?" "Oh come on! That's not what I meant!" "Well, I'm not a freaking mind reader!" "Well shut up, here he comes!" Lyre caught her eye and smiled. Vespa tried to shoot down the stab of guilt. He really was sweet... Well, there were plenty of other dragons that he could fall for. "Hey," he said. "My friends were gonna go to the recreation room, but you said you liked to sculpt? I was thinking that we could go to the art cave if you'd like?" Oh, he was so sweet. Before she could open her mouth to say no thanks, Wisteria butted in and said, "Sure! We'll meet you there!" Ugh! I don't want to- well, maybe if I get to know him better... "Let's go," said Vespa, trying to sound NOT IRRITATED. Lyre smiled, and Vespa felt guilty all over again. "Where are you going?" One of the HiveWings who was sitting with them blinked at them. Her scales were a shade of dark green that was usually uncommon on HiveWings, and Vespa was sure that she must've been mistaken for some weird hybrid. She was pretty sure her name was Gypsy. "We're going to the art cave." "You can come with us if you'd like," Wisteria suggested. Gypsy shook her head. When they were out of the Prey Center, Vespa rounded on Wisteria. "What was that about? Why did you invite her?" "Because that's the polite thing to do!" "Ugh, she's so annoying!" "Why?" Lyre wondered. "She sticks her fat nose into EVERYONE'S business! If I ask one of her friends something, she's always like 'Oh, what did you ask?' and I'm always like 'Oh it's fine you don't need to know.' and she's like 'well, you can just tell me, can't you?' and I'm like 'no thanks.' but she never stops and- ugh! I just can't stand her!" Vespa huffed and walked ahead, not caring that Wisteria had to jog to keep up. "This is the art cave," said Lyre, gently stopping her. "I think they keep the clay towards the back." "Lyre!" It was that SeaWing again. Dark greenish-blue-gray with sapphire blue eyes. He looked a little irritated, which surprised Vespa because during the short walk they took to the Prey Center, he'd hardly said anything and when he did, it was in a tone that made him sound incredibly bored. And bor-ING. It's not fun talking to a dragon who sounds constantly bored. ''Vespa blinked at him. "Where have you been? King's asking about you." "Vespa and I were going to y'know... sculpt and paint and stuff." Lyre flushed. The SeaWing gave Lyre an odd look. "Really. Listen, that's cute and all, but King ''really ''wants to talk to you. You can paint with Vespa any time you want." "Well, King can talk to me any time he wants. Tell him to come here instead," Lyre suggested. The green dragonet snapped his teeth at him, lashing his tail. "What do I look like? Some f**king messenger? Tell him yourself, you lazy RainWing! I'm tired of telling you things! You need to learn to do things by yourself!" Without another word, he swept down the corridor. "HEY!" Lyre barked after him. "Santorini! Get your fat SeaWing tail back here!" "Wow," muttered Wisteria. "That escalated fast." "Didn't it? He's been a little grouchy lately and I have no idea why!" "It must be annoying to keep walking back and forth," Vespa said. "Well, maybe he'll calm down later. But if this King fellow needs to talk to you, you should probably see what it's about." Lyre sighed and folded his wings. "I guess you're right. I'll be back soon!" When the RainWing was out of earshot, Vespa immediately left the art cave. ''Sorry Lyre, but I just don't like you that way! "You are so ''mean," Wisteria said. "How?" "You completely ditched him! He's gonna come back to the art cave and wonder where we went!" "I'll tell him that one of my friends needed me. Or I'll just pin the blame on you." "Gee, thanks." '. . ''. His feet ached and his muscles were very sore as he dragged his body back to his sleeping cave. He'd already apologized to Lyre for snapping at him. "You look exhausted," Cole said. The LeafWing nudged Santorini, and he growled at him. "Don't touch me." "Sorry." "But yes, I am tired." "You didn't even do anything," King pointed out. "Not doing anything actually requires a lot of energy," Santorini informed him, and got an amused snort in response. "What are we doing tomorrow?" Lyre asked. At least his voice sounded normal--the RainWing had dragged Santorini off to a secluded corner where he told him tearfully that Vespa had left. That was only a few hours ago. "Hopefully nothing," sighed Santorini. "We'll see," said King dismissively. "We'll check with the girls and see what they want to do." "You mean ''you ''will check with the girls," Cole said. ''You guys are idiots. Just tell them you like them! ''Santorini was pretty sure EVERYONE knew that Cole liked Rune and King liked Caldera. But from the way he interacted with Frostleaf, he was pretty sure that King might be crushing on Frostleaf too. "Oh, do you know what happened to her after she left?" he asked. "Who?" "Frostleaf." The other three dragonets shrugged. "Why? Do ''you ''like her?" Lyre nudged him playfully, their wings brushing. "Not really. In fact, not even in the slightest." Santorini was possibly the only one in their current "friend group" who didn't actually like anyone. He didn't find the appeal at all- they were all dragonets! And then there was Lyre, who thought he was destined for Vespa. Even though she's clearly NOT into him! I suppose he found that out the hard way. And King was a little less obvious with Caldera, but she was totally into him too. And Rune and Cole were definitely going to be together by the end of the week. "Oh yeah. You don't have room in your pea-sized heart to love anyone." "I don't have room to love anyone because no one is worthy of my love." Santorini rolled his eyes. "Well there's Sienna," King suggested. "Stars above, NO!" This new idea disturbed him even more than the idea of him and... Frostleaf. "Just because we like books and have similar interests doesn't mean we like each other!" "You're awfully defensive of this," Cole teased. "Because that's just a stupid idea!" "What about Wisteria? You were walking with her too, weren't you?" Lyre grinned at Santorini's glare. "I had no choice! You were a little ''busy ''with Vespa! And all she did was run her stupid mouth. It was annoying! I told you, they are just broken hearts waiting to happen." "Oh yeah, Vespa!" King nodded, as if he'd just remembered the beautiful HiveWing that had ensnared Lyre's attention. "How'd it go?" "I don't want to talk about it." "He got his stupid heart broken, just like I predicted," Santorini revealed. "What?" Cole and King stopped and stared at Lyre, who was definitely not crying. "You did something!" Lyre snapped suddenly. "You probably used your weird SeaWing magic or something- voodoo or whatever- to make her stop liking me!" "Get it through your thick RainWing skull," Santorini huffed back. "She never liked you in the first place. You ''know ''why. Anyone and everyone who's ever met you knows why." "You're a jerk!" "Because I warned you not to go after her? I told you she was trouble and ''you ''didn't listen to me!" "You are such a judgmental little freak! You always have been! You ''always ''have to be right! And it doesn't matter who you hurt!" "Excuse me?" Santorini lashed his tail. "I'm not the delusional airhead who thought some stupid HiveWing was my destiny! I'm not the one who went up to her and started asking stupid questions! It's not my fault you didn't listen to me!" "You can't always judge a book by it's cover!" "I was trying to protect you!" "Well, I didn't want your protection! Some protection that was, in any case too! You're the worst friend I've ever had!" Lyre started crying. "OH MY GOSH, SHUT UP ALREADY!" "We're trying to sleep!" "Go away!" Other dragonets were waking up and poking their snouts out of their cave to glare at them. Santorini hissed at them and pushed past his clawmates into their cave, sinking to the bottom of his river and cursing them in Aquatic. He woke up the next morning feeling angry and furious with everyone. He glared at the lotus flower where Lyre was sleeping, but the RainWing was awake and met his furious gaze with his own cold stare. ''I hate you, ''he thought. You ''are the worst friend anyone could ever have. '' "Let's go," growled Lyre. "We need to settle this." Santorini bared his teeth at him and followed him out of the cave, all the way out of the JMA. They landed in a small clearing. "You talk first." Santorini scowled at him. Lyre hissed. "My heart just got broken, and all you have to say is, 'I told you so'? Really?" "I did tell you," Santorini snapped. "It's not my fault you didn't listen to me!" "I just- I didn't like that you were practically telling me what to do! I really hate that, y'know? And I hoped you were wrong! She didn't look like the kind of dragon who would be so mean!" "I was trying to make sure that your heart didn't get broken. You need to learn to read body language. It tells you a lot about a dragon." "I realized that. When we were walking to the art cave, she didn't want to walk near me. She was sort of clinging to her friend." "But you still hoped?" "Yeah." There was a pause. "I'm sorry I wasn't understanding." Santorini sighed and let the tension leave his body. Lyre wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry I called you names." Another pause. "I hate fighting with you." "Me too." Lyre opened his wings and Santorini rested his head on his shoulder. "You're a good friend." "You too." "I'm hungry," Santorini whispered, after they hugged each other. Lyre smiled. "Let's go back. King and Cole are probably freaking out, wondering where the heck we are." "They probably think the other dragonets from the other caves beat us up, killed us, and dumped our bodies in a ditch." "Oooo, just the way I wanted to die." Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon) Category:Fanfictions Category:Genre (Prophecy) Category:Genre (Adventure) Category:Work In Progress Category:Mature Content Category:Content (Valiant-74210)